Frequently Asked Q's

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: So you'll write my essay for me, right?

A: Wrong. I'm not here to plagiarize. But I am here to help you strategize your marketing approach to each college, pick your topic, advise you on your outline, draw out the most compelling anecdotes, devise a cohesive narrative, and edit for flow, repetition, grammar, punctuation, and word count. I will help perfect your essay, but I will not write it for you.

Q: Lame. But you guarantee admission to my dream school?

A: Sorry, that's legally (and practically) impossible. Getting accepted consists of multiple factors that no consultant has control over, including your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, recommendation letters, and alumni interviews. That said, the admissions essay is considered a vital part of the admissions algorithm--this is your one chance to show the admissions officers who you are besides a list of extracurriculars and a dizzying stream of numbers.

Q: What's the big deal with an application essay anyway?

A: Admissions officers review thousands of applications in a frighteningly short amount of time. Your essay is your one opportunity to humanize your application and, potentially, even stand out from the dizzying crowd. And if your grades or scores are less than stellar, this is your chance to explain why. Finally, if you're concerned about the rapidly rising cost of college, your essay(s) can be repurposed for scholarship applications. Two birds, one stone. In my case, I was able to reuse my admissions essay to win the $100,000 Campbell's Soup essay contest scholarship.

Q: But don't they just skim it & focus on my numbers?

A: Nope. As Ellen Kim, the dean of undergraduate admissions at Johns Hopkins University, told the Washington Post, “We absolutely get a sense of applicants’ personalities from their essays. The essay is just one part of the application but the most effective ones pull the whole application together."

Q: Fine, but didn't I master this in school already?

A: What you've learned is the academic essay, which focuses on research, citations, close reading of a text, MLA formatting, and proving your thesis. This is the exact opposite of what admissions officers want to read in your personal statement, which should sound like you and not the thesaurus version of you. Nothing makes their eyes glaze over faster than a boring, staid, and formulaic academic approach. In fact, you often have to unlearn these academic skills when writing your personal statement, which relies on self-reflection instead of overwrought analysis. Students often get lower marks for inserting themselves into academic discussions, so this is a hard skill for many to master. That's why I'm here to help translate the you in real life to the you on the page.